UNITED STATES—We have all heard the saying “Nice guys finish last.” And I have to be honest to some degree I do believe that. That is not to say it’s totally a bad thing, but at the same time, I do believe it’s important to not be so overly nice so that people use that against you. I’m a nice guy by nature, but in 2017 I just allowed people to get so many things over me that should have never transpired.

Well, I hope they are ready for 2018, because Mr. Nice Guy is still here, but he won’t be the same guy you’ve known for years. Why? I’m ready to force people to realize my giving personality is about to take a direction some never expected. The word ‘YES’ is so prone to my vocabulary it’s just hard for me to utter the word ‘NO’ when people ask me for things. That is very disturbing people, and making the situation worse is people know this and plenty of times use it against me.

I might fuss and fight when someone requests things from me, but I always end up folding and giving in. I’ve done it for YEARS, but 2018 is going to be different people because I’m over it. I have to start realizing and focusing on my needs first and foremost before constantly giving and giving to others and being the one left out in the cold.

Nice is good, too nice and people will take advantage of you anyway and anytime that you allow them to. I mean I heard a little birdie that informed me someone who owed me a load of money had no intention of paying that money back because he felt he was entitled to it. What? Really! That person is about to be a big surprise, because the New Year allows the opportunity for a rebirth of sorts in my opinion. It’s that opportunity for one to have a fresh start. That fresh start for me means no loans for the first few months of 2018. That has always been a rule of thumb for me. Why? Cause I’m all about saving and I can care less what people say or think of me.

That is something that without a doubt works to my advantage. People do their best to read my mind, but they can never do it. I’m not an open book, and I use that to my advantage to attempt to gauge what people are thinking and what they are hoping to gain from me. Some know how to toggle the heartstrings, but not so much in 2018. If you don’t have a valid and convincing reason, don’t come asking or expecting me to deliver something to you.

Let me be clear I’m not planning to be evil or nasty to people; I might be blunt with my response, but it’s just to prove that the focus for this year is all about me: my needs, my wants, my aspirations. At some point, one has to put their goals front and center and not worry so much about what everyone else needs. This is so true of so many Americans. The focus immediately turns to others, and we focus so much on them that we forget about us. Remember you can’t help everyone, but at the same time if you don’t take care of yourself, how do you expect to be able to take care of others?